Dogfish Head beers

I read some list of the 10 beers you need to try before you die, and a stout by Dogfish Head brewery was on there and it sounded really good. The brewery is located in Delaware, so you're only going to find it in select stores or bottle shops around here. Anyway, I was at Poulsbo Market today and saw that they had a few of their beers, including the 90 minute IPA, which apparently has been raved about ("Possibly the best IPA in America" -Esquire). I picked up a four pack to give it a try. It was a bit expensive at $10, but seeing as how I considered ordering some of their beers online (with super expensive shipping), it was a small sacrifice. I don't even like IPAs, but I found it had a little more flavor and although it was bitter, it wasn't as bad as a lot of others I've tried. It also packs a punch at 9%abv, but you wouldn't guess it from the taste. Anyway, if you see some beers by Dogfish head in a store or at a bar, you should give them a shot. I really want to try their stout now.

http://www.dogfish.com/

Braid

Man, this game has totally caught me by surprise. I mean I had read all the rave reviews from last year, so I figured it was going to be good, but somehow it was totally not what I expected. The game itself is interesting enough. It's basically a puzzle game disguised as a platformer. In each of the 6 worlds, you manipulate time in a different way to reach puzzle pieces. There were more than a few times where I got stumped for a bit, but it was a nice brain teaser.

Anyway, the real reason I wanted to make a post about this is because of the story. Man, if you ever want to talk about games as art, this has got to be exhibit A. It's kind of an interesting take on the whole Mario rescuing the princess thing. What's cool is that it's all pretty abstract and there's a lot of potential meanings that can be gleamed from it. I thought the way the final level was set up was really ingenious although it was kind of depressing. And apparently there's secret stuff to go back and unlock after you beat the game to which adds some tidbits to the story. The game is totally different from anything else I've played. I feel like I've just read a good book or seen a thought provoking movie or something. I think that's one of the first times that's happened for me with a video game. I'd suggest checking it out since it's on sale, but if you do, you really have to go into it with an open mind.

EDIT: I read someone's synopsis that they came up with after collecting the hidden stars (it seems really freaking hard so I won't bother), and I must say it is totally not what I expected. It's cool to see such a completely different explanation. Check this out of you play and beat the game, otherwise don't click on it!!! http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?showtopic=190136%C2%A0 I just want to have it bookmarked in case one of you do play it. Here's another good one: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/xbox360/file/943284/53842

Jeopardy!

Just wanted to let everyone know that my boss is going to be on Jeopardy tomorrow evening. She actually filmed the show like a month ago, but it's just now getting on the air. She wasn't able to tell anyone how she did or anything, but we know that she did not make it to the next week's tapings, so she couldn't have won more than 10 episodes in a row.
They film 10 episodes in a 2-day span. 5 per day, with about 5-10 minutes in between each show that they require you to change your clothes during (so it looks like it's filmed on different days).
So anyways, I think I'll still be up for JFT, but I will be taking a break during that time to watch it, and I wanted to let you all know too in case you wanna watch. Her name is Kelly the Actuary.

P.S. I don't think she'll get very far, I doubt if she even won the first episode.

Watchmen Review!

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2009/02/spoiler-alert-watchmen-is-fucking-awesome.html

Wil Wheaton (friend of the Penny Arcade guys) wrote his review of The Watchmen movie. Sounds like he loved it. Good news guys!

Necessary Shows

My friends, I have compiled a list of the greatest shows to ever grace our planet. This list can be modified, however, so feel free to write suggestions after and I will consider them (sorry Tim, Gossip Girl is not going to make the list, jk ;) )

I have decided not to attempt to put them in "order" since different genres are included and it is hard to really say which is "better" than the others.

Lost (my favorite sci-fi drama of all time at this point)

Heroes (season 1 only - I have a lot of respect for the style the show had during their premiere season)

Chappelle's Show (remember all those annoying people saying "I'm Rick James, bitch", "Whaaaat?", etc? Example of the influence this show had)

The Office (I'd say this is the best comedy show on air still that I've seen)

Sopranos (Amazing mobster drama. I love organized crime :) )

Dexter (Only seen the first season, but I thought the show was exceptional - probably due to the "organized crime" element again.)

South Park (so many funny moments...is the new season on now?)

Related to this, I think I may start collecting Bobbleheads/figures from amazing movies/tv shows. Some of them are awesome!

http://www.clayguy.com/id24.html - hmmm, and here are the ONLY Soprano's figures I could find. I don't know how I feel about them, especially for the price he charges!

hmmm.....

Yeah another Watchman post, but this should be the last one. Apparently there were some clips released today and.....they kind of suck. I was worried about there being too much unecessary slo-mo, and it looks like that may have been warranted. Also, the actors actors are pretty bad. Silk Spectre and Ozymandius are just not doing it for me. Also isn't Rorschach the one who warns Veidt?

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/17/four-new-watchmen-clips/#more-20070

Half-Life movieish!

I don't know if you guys are into the half-life series. I became a huge fan when i got the orange box and played through half-life 2 and all the episodes. This video is awesome. The actors are terrible at talking so i wish they wouldn't but other then that this video is spot on. I love the sound effects. They took everything from the game so it sounds exactly like it should. The shorts clips showing the zombies really look great also. I wish i could create something like this. Gotta love the internet

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/left-4-dead-survival-update-is-free/927/?linktags=home,home-news
Valve,

I'm sorry I ever doubted your integrity. We are not worthy of your kindness. Please accept my sincere apology. My faith will not waver again. I promise.

An interesting Lost theory

Hey John, check this out
...and here's the promo they reference
Sounds plausible.

Inglourious Basterds

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808404206/video/11988602

The teaser for Quentin Tarantino's new war movie just got released. It's got Brad Pitt doing a dumb accent, Eli Roth salivating over the chance to scalp some Nazis, and Neil from Freaks & Geeks and Ryan the temp from The Office as part of a ragtag team of soldiers. Seems like a weird mix, but I like QT and war movies, so I'm down.

Watchmen Game

Hey. I decided Dan shouldn't be the only one posting stuff about Watchmen! Check this out:

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/952/952934p1.html

This looks pretty cool for a live arcade game. After Castle Crashers I've been looking forward to another beat em up multiplayer arcade game. Overall lots of great stuff in here. My two favorite heroes from the comic are included and its set during what should be an interesting, yet unexplored, part of the backstory of the watchmen universe. I'm extremely disappointed that it won't be live enabled. (Offline only! What the frack!) Plus it'll only be two players but it still should be a fun distraction. Plus, the graphics look great for a downloadable game. Overall i'm pretty excited.

The Lonely Island

Wanted to make sure everyone remembered that today is the debut of Incredibad by The Lonely Island packed with 19 songs including favorites:

Space Olympics
Jizz In My Pants
Sax Man
Dick In A Box (ft. Justin Timberlake)

and my new personal favorite, I’m On A Boat. Enjoy.

EDIT: They disabled embedding, so here is a bad copy.
EDIT2: Looks like all the original versions are gone, so here is a bleeped copy.
EDIT3: They enabled it again?




Also, there is a DVD with 8 of the videos. Good times. The Lonely Island

Movie Review: The Wrestler (2008)

I think Darren Aronofsky is one of the more interesting director's working today. His last movie, The Fountain, is definitely one you would categorize as love it or hate it, and I must say I loved the thorough mindfucking it gave me. Needless to say, when I heard he was making a movie about an old washed-up wrestler, I was kind of surprised, as it's definitely a departure from his other work. It drops the fancy camera work and editing of Requiem for a Dream and the abstract story of Pi and The Fountain, and instead delivers something even more genuine. That's really the best word I can use to describe it. The story is a fairly straight-forward telling of the 'old has-been' tale, but it honestly feels like this is the first time it's been done right. Really this movie is all Mickey Rourke (you may know him as Marv the badass from Sin City). He gives such a heartfelt and believable performance that you think your watching a documentary about "Randy the Ram." It's kind of crazy how the story parallels that of his own career. A guy who reached a fair amount of stardom and after some personal problems and some hardship, he is left trying to eek out a buck milking his past success. In the case of Randy the Ram, it was by taking small wrestling gigs in community centers, and for Rourke himself it was taking roles as generic hitmen in movies like Man on Fire and Domino. Anyway, it's pretty clear that he made a deep connection with the character. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood are also fantastic, and they really help give the emotional scenes that much more of an impact. I think a simple story with genuine, heartfelt performances like these are so much more effective at forging a connection with the audience than movies like Benjamin Button (and even Slumdog Millionaire to a lesser extent) where some of the dramatic moments feel overly-constructed and not as authentic. It really succeeds at creating three dimensional characters who you feel for and a story that avoids being stereotypical sappy Hollywood trash. This is probably the most brutal and honest look at professional wrestling as your ever going to see. It's no surprise to me that former wrestler/actor 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper broke down in tears after the film was screened for him. It just feels like a lot of heart went into all aspects of the film. It's really nice to see that Aronofsky can be so successful with something that's more substance over style.

Fun Fact: Nicolas Cage was originally slated to star as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson. What. The. Fuck.

5/5


Trailer

LOST!

Okay, this is mainly just meant for John (although really you guys should give it a shot. It's actually some super-dense sci-fi stuff, you have no idea). Anyway, I stumbled across this website: http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page and I've found it to be very informative. It's interesting to see all the info compiled. The mysteries section is especially interesting. When you start reading into things a little more, it really is crazy to see how all these things fit together. Apparently the show is made especially for the nerdy people who will be examining all the details and making conspiracy theories. I'm sure everything is going to fit together and there will be of "OH, so that's why that was significant" moments as we get to the end, but it really is a lot more fulfilling to be able to see the connections before everything is completely revealed.

Anyway, I finally feel like I am getting a grasp on everything as a whole and I've got somewhat of an idea of where they are heading, which is definitely helpful because it seems as though they are just going to get more and more abstract. I won't go into specifics because I don't want to get into spoilers (seriously though, rent the DVDs and watch them during the time slot Heroes normally comes on). I just thought I'd post that because it's a good way to waste some time and it really helps make sense of some things.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/05/first-left-4-dead-dlc-announced/
There it is. Spring time release for new Left 4 Dead content. I was reading some comments and forums people seem pretty upset cause it sounds like all this is is a survival mode and the two other campaigns will be made available for Versus. However, I don't know. The press release says two new campaigns for versus mode. I kind of am hopeing that it means two all new campaigns for versus mode and if they were going to just make the other movies work for versus they would say so and not charge for that. I doubt that i'm right but dear god i hope i am. I wonder what survival mode will be like also. I guess we'll see.

The Keene Act and You

I don't mean to post every Watchmen-related item, but this video is even cooler than the first one. I'm so glad they've been able to capture the coolness of the alternate-history stuff from the book. Man I hope it lives up to the hype.

This made me kek so much

Kek is to laugh? >.>

Wow, apparently Christian Bale is a giant douche.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/02/nsfw-christian-bale-flips-out-on-terminator-salvation-set/#respond

I know this is borderline hollywood gossip shit that I normally wouldn't bat an eye at, but if you listen to it, it's pretty ridiculous. He's always struck me as a super professional guy, but c'mon...get a fucking grip. It's really funny to hear the director's comment "Uh, I didn't see it." He clearly doesn't want that rage directed at him.

I gotta say, my man-crush on him just took a slight hit.

(Also, I know there was that story about him assaulting his mom and sister around the time Dark Knight came out, but I didn't think anything was proven or any charges were filed)

EDIT: In his defense, apparently it was the second time the guy was being a distraction and probably deserved to be called out (apparently being still behind the scenes is the number one rule), but for 4 minutes??

Super Bowl (now with happy ending!)

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/278448.php

Too bad we don't live in AZ. Apparently Tyler Durden works for the cable company down there.

alternate link

The Trident of Naz'Jan

Anything that combines WoW and Deathklok makes me happy. Anyone who did the quest series around 'the mist' in Borean Tundra should enjoy it, or any fan of machinima, metal, or WoW in general.